b. 1983 Salt Lake City, Utah
lives and works in Miami, FL
education:
2006 BFA, Drawing and Painting, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
selected solo:
it doesn’t look like paradise anymore, Southern Oregon University, Jan 2019, Ashland, OR
seeing the stone, Contemporary Utah Art Center, Apr-June 2016, Salt Lake City, UT
slow burn, Spinello Projects, March 2016, Miami, FL
University of Tennessee Knoxville, Feb-Mar 2016, Knoxville, TN
Miami FL Cast Set, Emerson Dorsch Gallery, May 2014, Miami, FL
forthcoming 2020:
Southern Utah Museum of Art, Arts and Culture Center of Hollywood, Miami-Dade Art in Public Places
selected projects and group exhibitions:
Grounded, Spinello Projects, Dec-Jan 2019/2020, Miami, FL
Along the Line: Contemporary Explorations of the Transcontinental Railroad, Brigham Young University, June 2019, Provo, UT
Transcontinental, State of Utah Division of Arts and Museums Rio Grande Train Station, March 2019, Salt Lake City, UT
FREE!, Brickell City Center, curated by Spinello Projects + Octavia Yearwood, Dec 2018 Miami, FL
A Matter of Course, Chapman University, Aug-Sept 2018, Orange, CA
Recent, exhibition of acquisitions into the State of Utah Collection, Alice Gallery, Jul-Sept 2018 Salt Lake City, UT
Homebodies: Away Team, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Jan– May 2018, Salt Lake City, UT
Representing the West: A New Frontier (juried), Sangre de Cristo Art Center, Feb-May 2018, Pueblo, CO
Fair. curated by Spinello Projects at the Brickell City Center, Miami, FL
Sunrise Sunset, Emerson Dorsch Gallery, Dec 2017, Miami, FL
CT8 Exhibition, Sierra Nevada College, Oct-Nov 2017, Lake Tahoe, NV
South Florida Cultural Consortium, Museum of Contemporary Art, Jun-Aug 2017, Miami, FL
Mere Facade, Spinello Projects, June 2017, Miami, FL
Biennale of Moving Images, Faena Art Center, May 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Cryin’ Out Loud (juried), Center for Contemporary Arts, Apr - Jul 2017 Santa Fe, NM
Ecology in the Age of Inner Turmoil, Beefhaus, Dec 2016-Jan 2017, Dallas, TX
Fringe Projects, four commissioned temporary public artworks in downtown Miami, Sept-Nov 2016, Miami, FL
Open Sesame, curated by Kristan Kennedy, Lumber Room, May-July 2016, Portland, OR
No Man’s Land: Women Artists from the Rubell Family Collection, Rubell Family Collection, Dec 2015-Aug 2016, Miami, FL
The Land of Here and Now, June-July 2016, Fed Galleries, Grand Rapids, MI
(en)Gendered (in) Equity: The Gallery Tally Poster Project Retrospective, Mar-Apr 2016, L.A.C.E, Los Angeles, CA
Fantastical Vizcaya, commissioned works at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Dec 2015, Miami, FL
Littlest Sister 2015, Spinello Projects, Dec 2015, Miami, FL
Voces Feroces curated by Micol Hebron, Centro Cultural Matucana 100, Nov. 2015 Santiago, Chile
Paper Route 66, BranvinLee Programs, May-Jul 2015, New York, NY
Auto Body, May 2015, Faena Art Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina
THE GALLERY TALLY POSTER PROJECT, May 2014, Women Made Gallery Chicago, IL
Utah Ties, juried by Mara McCarthy, Contemporary Utah Art Center, Mar 2015, Salt Lake City, UT
Locally Sourced, Jan-Mar 2015 American University Museum, Jan 2015, Washington, DC
grand opening video screening, The Situation Room, Feb 2015, Los Angeles, CA
Happy Endings, Dec 2014-Jan 2015, Miami, FL
Auto Body, Dec 2014, Miami, FL
Ping-Pong, Dec 2014/June 2015, Miami FL/Basel, Switzerland
(en)Gendered (in) Equity: The Gallery Tally Poster Project, For Your Art, April 2014, Los Angeles, CA
Free Form Film Festival, Contemporary Utah Art Center, October 2013, Salt Lake City, UT
Calamity & Ruin with the Oh Nancy project, Project 772, March 2013, NYC, NY
After the End, Contemporary Utah Art Center, December 2012-January 2013, Salt Lake City, UT
Optic Nerve 14, juried video program, Museum of Contemporary Art, September 2012, Miami, FL
Blankland with the Oh Nancy project, Torrance Art Museum, July 2012, Los Angeles, CA
FAX, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, March-June 2012, Salt Lake City, UT
passage, Sam Weller’s Bookstore, October 2011, Salt Lake City, UT
Twin Twin, Pierogi Gallery, September 2011 Brooklyn, NY
counterform, juried exhibition, J Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah, September 2011, Salt Lake City, UT
West of Center curated by Micol Hebron, Jancar Gallery, July 2011, Los Angeles, CA
Salt Lake Biennial, House Gallery, July 2011, Salt Lake City, UT
Lawn Gnomes Eat Your Hearts Out, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, May 2011, Salt Lake City, UT
Go West, curated by Jill Dawsey, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, October 2010- January 2011, Salt Lake City, UT
Cinderbox, collaborative exhibition with Mary Toscano, Central Utah Art Center, September 2010, UT
Into The White, collaborative exhibition with Mary Toscano, Kayo Gallery, May 2010, Salt Lake City, UT
selected collections:
Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL
State of Utah Fine Art Collection, Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake County Art Collection, Salt Lake City, UT
prizes and awards:
2018 Ellie Award, Art Center South Florida
2016 South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship
2016 WaveMaker grant recipient, administered by Cannonball, Miami and made possible through the Andy Warhol Foundation of for the Visual Arts
2015 Utah Ties at CUAC, juror’s prize (Mara McCarthy)
2012 Salt Lake City Mayor’s Artist Award (Visual Arts)
selected press:
“Cara Despain: Seeing the Stone” by Alexandra Karl. Sculpture Magazine, vol. 36 no. 2, March 2017
“A Sound Installation in Miami’s Drains Warns of the Impending Flood” by Monica Uszerowicz.
hyperallergic.com, Nov 3, 2016
“Sea Unseen” audio work aired followed by live studio interview on KRCL 90.9 FM, Oct 7, 2016
“Cara Despain: Slow Burn” by Erin Thurlow. The Miami Rail, fall 2016
“Return of the Natives: Michael Ryan Handley and Cara Despain at CUAC”, by Shawn Rossiter. 15bytes.org, May 2016
“From Salt to Sand”, short profile doc by Kenny Riches. PBS.org, Aired on Art Loft, WPBT, Miami, October 2015. Screened at the Miami International Film Festival, March, 2016
“In a Former Auto Body Shop in Miami, Video and Performance Art by Women” by Jillian Steinhauer. hyperallergic.com, December 6, 2014
“Women-Led "Auto Body" Explores Breadth of Human Emotion Through Film, Performance” by Hans Morgenstern, The Miami New Times, December 2014
“Cara Despain, Cast Set” by Liz Shannon. The Miami Rail, fall 2014
“Sitting ‘round the campfire with the very vivid Cara Despain” by John Hood. culturedesigners.com, July 25 2014
“Arts Preview: Cara Despain's Timbre" by Daisy Blake. The Salt Lake Tribune, September 2011
“Timbre: A Solo Exhibition by Cara Despain” by Brian Staker. The Salt Lake City Weekly, September 2011
“Cara Despain whispers “timbre”” by Glen Warchol. The Salt Lake Tribune, September 2011
booooooom.com, February, 2011
Catalog for Cinderbox, Central Utah Art Center publication, essay by Adam Bateman. November 2010
“Into The White” By Ben Fulton. The Salt Lake Tribune, May 2010
“Cara Despain & Mary Toscano: Into The White” By Brain Staker.Salt Lake City Weekly, May 2010
“Unmonumental's Arrival: Rachel Salamone & Christopher Wawrinofsky at Nobrow and Cara Despain at Kayo“ by Geoff Wichert. 15Bytes.org July 2008
residencies:
Anderson Ranch, Home and Away with Oolite Art Center, March 2020, Snowmass, CO
Signal Fire Wide Open Studios, Four Corners AZ/CO/NM/UT, October 2018
Saga, Eyrarbakki, Iceland January 2018
Cabin Time 8, Eastern Sierras, CA, April 2017
Feminist Summer Camp, Birch Creek Ranch, UT May 2016
Shared Space, Pentwater, MI, June 2015
A-Z West/High Desert Test Sites open season, Joshua Tree, CA, November 2014
Birch Creek Residency, Spring City, UT. September 2010